Ezekiel 24

¹Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.

³And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

⁴Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

⁵Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.

⁶Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.

⁷For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;

⁸That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.

⁹Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.

¹⁰Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

¹¹Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.

¹²She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.

¹³In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

¹⁴I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.

¹⁵Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

¹⁶Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

¹⁷Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

¹⁸So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

¹⁹And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?

²⁰Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

²¹Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

²²And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

²³And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.

²⁴Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

²⁵Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,

²⁶That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?

²⁷In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 24

¹And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying,

²Son of man, put down in writing this very day: The king of Babylon let loose the weight of his attack against Jerusalem on this very day.

³And make a comparison for this uncontrolled people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Put on the cooking-pot, put it on the fire and put water in it:

⁴And get the bits together, the fat tail, every good part, the leg and the top part of it: make it full of the best bones.

⁵Take the best of the flock, put much wood under it: see that its bits are boiling well; let the bones be cooked inside it.

⁶For this is what the Lord has said: A curse is on the town of blood, the cooking-pot which is unclean inside, which has never been made clean! take out its bits; its fate is still to come on it.

⁷For her blood is in her; she has put it on the open rock not draining it on to the earth so that it might be covered with dust;

⁸In order that it might make wrath come up to give punishment, she has put her blood on the open rock, so that it may not be covered.

⁹For this cause the Lord has said: A curse is on the town of blood! and I will make great the burning mass.

¹⁰Put on much wood, heating up the fire, boiling the flesh well, and making the soup thick, and let the bones be burned.

¹¹And I will put her on the coals so that she may be heated and her brass burned, so that what is unclean in her may become soft and her waste be completely taken away.

¹²I have made myself tired to no purpose: still all the waste which is in her has not come out, it has an evil smell.

¹³As for your unclean purpose: because I have been attempting to make you clean, but you have not been made clean from it, you will not be made clean till I have let loose my passion on you in full measure.

¹⁴I the Lord have said the word and I will do it; I will not go back or have mercy, and my purpose will not be changed; in the measure of your ways and of your evil doings you will be judged, says the Lord.

¹⁵And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁶Son of man, see, I am taking away the desire of your eyes by disease: but let there be no sorrow or weeping or drops running from your eyes.

¹⁷Let there be no sound of sorrow; make no weeping for your dead, put on your head-dress and your shoes on your feet, let not your lips be covered, and do not take the food of those in grief.

¹⁸So in the morning I was teaching the people and in the evening death took my wife; and in the morning I did what I had been ordered to do.

¹⁹And the people said to me, Will you not make clear to us the sense of these things; is it for us you do them?

²⁰Then I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²¹Say to the people of Israel, The Lord has said, See, I will make my holy place unclean, the pride of your strength, the pleasure of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and daughters, who did not come with you here, will be put to the sword.

²²And you will do as I have done, not covering your lips or taking the food of those in grief.

²³And your head-dresses will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet: there will be no sorrow or weeping; but you will be wasting away in the punishment of your evil-doing, and you will be looking at one another in wonder.

²⁴And Ezekiel will be a sign to you; everything he has done you will do: when this takes place, you will be certain that I am the Lord.

²⁵And as for you, son of man, your mouth will be shut in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which their hearts are fixed, and their sons and daughters.

²⁶In that day, one who has got away safe will come to you to give you news of it.

²⁷In that day your mouth will be open to him who has got away safe, and you will say words to him and your lips will no longer be shut: so you will be a sign to them and they will be certain that I am the Lord.